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Author: kbcadm

Advice from the Media | Kathy Lu

January 7, 2014
Name: Kathy Lu Title: Assistant Managing Editor/Features Media Outlet: Kansas City Star Twitter Handle: @kathyluwho 1) Describe your typical workday in 140 characters or less. Emails. Meetings. Editing. Story discussions. Putting out fires. Responding to readers. Not necessarily in that order. 2) What's the best pitch you've ever received? It's hard to think of the best one, but we pay more attention when it has anything to do with Kansas City. Just recently, we've done stories based on pitches about Kansas City ranking high in certain studies and about people living and working in Kansas City doing cool things. 3) The greatest words of wisdom an editor ever gave you? There are several, and they always run through my head: "Read your stories aloud" (you can catch things better that way); "End sentences on a word that leaves a strong feeling"; "Read everything" (to get story ideas); "Kill your babies" (sometimes, the piece is better off without that turn of phrase or section you really love). 4) If there was one thing you could tell every PR practitioner, what would it be? Know your audience. Blanket, generic pitches are often trashed. But if it has something specific to do with the place or person you're sending it to, you have a better shot at it being noticed.

Advice from the Media | Elisabeth Eaves

November 19, 2013

Name: Elisabeth Eaves Title: Author, editor, and freelance writer. Formerly a Robert Bartley fellow on the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, a staff writer and editor at Forbes, and opinions editor at the Daily, the world's first iPad newspaper. Media Outlet: Many. Recently: the New...

Advice from the Media | Eric Peters

October 1, 2013

Name: Eric Peters Title: Vulture of the Western World/Car/Bikes/Politics Columnist Media Outlet: Easy Rider/American Airlines/American Spectator/San Diego Metro/National Motorists Association Personal Blog: www.ericpetersautos.com 1) Describe your typical workday in 140 characters or less. Up early, lots of coffee. Get a jump on the world. Take a breather around 1; do...

Advice from the Media | Mark Hemingway

July 31, 2013

Name: Mark Hemingway Title: Senior Writer Media Outlet: The Weekly Standard Twitter Handle: @heminator 1) Describe your typical workday in 140 characters or less. Lots and lots of reading, punctuated by flurries of writing and an occasional interview. 2) What's the best pitch you've ever received? I won't elaborate on the details,...

Advice from the Media | Toby Harnden

July 23, 2013
Name: Toby Harnden Title: Washington Bureau Chief Media Outlet: The Sunday Times (UK) Twitter Handle: @tobyharnden Personal Blog: www.tobyharnden.com 1) Describe your typical workday in 140 characters or less. No day typical. Longest recent day when Boston bomber caught. Out reporting on grnd all week. Started writing 10pm. Filed 5,100 words by 9am 2) What's the best pitch you've ever received? I am instinctively suspicious of PR pitches so best ones are probably approaches I never knew were pitches. I've been invited to go fishing using hand grenades with the French Foreign Legion. That's quite attractive. 3) The greatest words of wisdom an editor ever gave you? Always go there. It's obvious but so many reporters these days use email as a crutch or don't go to an event because it will be on TV or they'll get a transcript. Early on in my career, in Northern Ireland, whenever there was a bombing or shooting I'd go, whatever the time of day or night. It was always worth it - I'd get a different angle or I'd meet a potential contact. It astonished me how many reporters were lazy. Along the same lines - always make the call. You never know whether or not the person will speak to you. But if you don't try, then you can be sure they won't.

Advice from the Media | Robert Pollock

July 9, 2013
Name: Robert L. Pollock Title: Former Op-ed Editor, Editorial Board Member Media Outlet: The Wall Street Journal 1) Describe your typical workday in 140 characters or less. I was op-ed editor of the WSJ from 2007-2012, and at the paper from 1995-2013. A typical workday began at home in the early morning and ended at the office around the time the first edition of the paper went to bed at 7PM. That includes Sundays, by the way. I was managing two pages of signed opinion with roughly six pieces per day. We got hundreds of submissions a week and commissioned many ourselves. 2) What's the best pitch you've ever received? The best pitch is not a pitch but a finished piece. Honestly an editor can’t tell much from a pitch, especially a phone pitch. If you don’t have a finished product pitch it by email rather than phone so the editor can see the written quality of your thoughts. 3) The greatest words of wisdom an editor ever gave you? Simplify. Don’t use big words where small ones will do. Beware of bad or mixed metaphors. It’s easy to forget how many common terms are actually metaphors. If an idea can’t be summed up in one sentence it probably isn’t right for an op-ed. 4) If there was one thing you could tell every PR practitioner, what would it be? Use email to pitch. Make sure the product has a well stated thesis in the lead graph, and make sure the product is clean. It’s surprising how many PR professionals send sloppy stuff. 5) What's your craziest or most interesting newsroom story? 9/11. The WSJ was across the street from the WTC. Putting out the paper that day and for months afterward was an amazing display of ingenuity and teamwork from my colleagues.

A Day At King’s Dominion

July 2, 2013
Every quarter, we take a company retreat. Most recently, we hit the roller coasters at King's Dominion in Virginia. It was a great trip. Here are some photos from the day.